Kai Havertz, Florian Wirtz and, most recently, Montrell Culbreath are just a few of the many young players at Bayer 04 who have managed to balance a move into professional football with successfully completing their school qualifications – in the case of the three players mentioned, their Abitur courses.
opening remarks from Bresser: "learn from each other"
The workshop day began with Jefta Bresser, Head of Youth Development at Bayer 04, welcoming the participating experts. “A warm welcome to our stadium. I hope we’ll have an interesting day full of new insights where we can all learn from one another. For us at Bayer 04, the topic of dual training is of great importance,” declared the Dutchman.
Bresser also outlined a significant change that has taken place recently within the Werkself youth ranks: the guaranteed sporting commitment for all youth players up to U16 level. This is intended to enable players “to concentrate on their schooling without any additional stress, for example if they happen to have a month where things aren’t going so well on the pitch. That was a significant step forward for us. We don’t just want to prepare our players for a career in professional sport – if all goes well – but for their whole lives.”
attendees from Spain, England and the NetherlaNDs
The conference attendees work for organisations including the English Football Association (FA), Arsenal, Chelsea, Athletic Bilbao, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and TSG Hoffenheim. The morning featured panel discussions, presentations and further opportunities for discussion.
